


Why?

by Chrissy6299



Category: Numb3rs (TV)
Genre: Gen, Written after the Janus List, old story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24641620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrissy6299/pseuds/Chrissy6299
Summary: Colby gets a visitor.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Why?

**Author's Note:**

> As I was going through my old stories, I found this little fic. I left the story mostly as-is, just left Grammarly clean it up.

Charlie looked up at the prison after he exited his car and took a deep breath, and then another. Behind these walls was Colby Granger. It had been a month since Charlie found the Janus list identifying Colby as a spy. Charlie had not seen him since that day, and he wasn’t sure why he was here now, just that he wanted to talk with Colby. Perhaps to understand why he did it, or to see him for who he really is. The knowledge that Colby was a spy clashed with Charlie’s memories of him. They were never good friends or anything, but Charlie had seen him as a good man and respected him.

Taking one more breath, Charlie walked over to the prison gate and announced himself to the guard.

After paperwork and security checks, Charlie entered a room with a glass panel in the middle and chairs on either side. The chairs on each side were divided by a thin wall for privacy, but it was clear that Charlie was the only one in the room. Charlie sat down on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and waited. He was nervous and once again wondered what he was doing here, and what he was going to say. A minute later the single door on the other side of the glass panel opened and a security guard came through with Colby Granger. The guard walked out again, leaving Charlie and Colby alone in the room. While Colby walked up to the chair opposite of Charlie, Charlie took a moment to look at him. Colby looked the same as Charlie remembered him, he hadn’t lost any weight, he didn’t look angry or mean. He didn’t look like a man who had betrayed his friends and his country.

Colby seemed surprised and perhaps a little suspicious at seeing Charlie. He sat down on the plastic chair and turned on the com. system on his side. Charlie looked to his right and also pushed the ‘on’ button on the wall.

“Hi Charlie,” Colby said with a small smile on his face.

A soft “Hi” was the only response he got. Charlie looked down at his hands in his lap, not knowing what to say.

“Charlie? Are you alright?” 

Charlie looked up and saw concern in Colby’s eyes.

Colby continued at Charlie’s silence. “Is Don okay?”

Charlie found his voice again, this time he found his anger as well. “Are we alright?” he asked incredulously, raising his voice as he went on. “As if you care about how we are doing.” 

Colby was shocked at Charlie’s outbreak and tried calming him down “Charlie, calm down. I understand that you’re angry, but yeah… I do care about you, Don and the others.”

“Why?” Charlie asked confused.

Colby sighed and rubbed his eyes with his right hand. “My reasons for working for the FBI where not,…. well… not patriotic,” An understatement which earned him a sarcastic “No really?” from Charlie. But Colby continued “but my friendship and respect for everyone was real.” He stopped Charlie’s further interruptions by raising his hand. “I guess that you have no reason to belief me, but it’s true. My ‘job’ didn’t require me to hangout with David, play basketball with Don, or listen to your long explanation of that week’s mathematical problem. That was all real.”

Charlie stayed silent for a minute, just looking at Colby.

“You listened to my explanations?” Charlie asked with a smile. Deciding that what Colby had just told him was probably true, since he had no reason to lie. He was guilty of treason, which earned him the death penalty, not much reason left to lie about something like this.

Colby was relieved when he heard Charlie question and saw the smile on his face. What he just told Charlie was true, and he was happy that Charlie believed him.

“Well… I listened about half the time, of course I didn’t understand most of it, but yeah, I listened.” Colby answered with a smirk, and it received an even bigger smile from Charlie.

Charlie’s smile disappeared, as he got serious again. He didn’t want to ask, but he had to know, he wanted to understand. “Why…. why did you do it?”

Colby shrugged. “For the money, pure and simple. The opportunity was there, and Dwayne and I grabbed it. It was simple, all we had to do was sell the info, we had no knowledge of what would be done with it; we didn’t see the repercussions.”

“So, even now, you don’t feel guilty about what you’ve done, the damage the information you sold has done to national security, to people’s lives?”

“No.” was Colby’s answer. “I am sorry though, that I betrayed you, Don, David and Megan. You guys have been good to me, and I’m sorry that I hurt you”.

Charlie took in Colby’s answer. Money, the motivation of many crimes, that was Colby’s reason. Charlie didn’t know what answer he had expected, but money, cold and uncomplicated, had not been it.

Again at a loss for words, he nodded to Colby and got up to leave. He had the answers to his questions, now he needed time to process. He turned around to face Colby who was still sitting, looking up at him. “Bye Colby”.

Colby’s smile was sad, “Bye Charlie, take care.”

Without looking back, Charlie turned around and walked away.


End file.
